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In today’s email (829 Words | 3 Min 24 Sec read):
Today’s Read
Overview
If you want to build products that people love, you need more than just a great idea. You need a process.
That’s what Marty Cagan’s Inspired is about. It’s not just a book on product management—it’s a blueprint for how great tech products are actually created. Get the book here.
What Makes a Great Product Manager?
Cagan says that a product manager is like the CEO of the product—but with no real authority.
Wait, what?
That means you don’t tell engineers and designers what to build. Instead, you lead through influence. You:
Understand the customer better than anyone.
Align business goals with user needs.
Work with engineers and designers to figure out the best solutions.
A bad PM just gathers requirements and hands them off. A great PM uncovers what customers truly need and works with the team to create something valuable.
Think of Steve Jobs’ famous line: "People don’t know what they want until you show it to them."
Your job is to discover what will delight customers—not just ask them what they want.
Discovery vs. Delivery: Stop Shipping Garbage
Most teams get stuck in "feature factory" mode—just cranking out features without questioning if they’re useful.
Cagan makes this clear: your job isn’t to deliver features—it’s to solve problems.
Let’s break it down:
Bad teams: Just build what executives tell them to.
Mediocre teams: Ask customers what they want and build that.
Great teams: Find real problems, test different solutions, and build what actually works.
A classic example? Microsoft’s Clippy.
It was meant to help users but ended up being annoying. Why?
Microsoft assumed users needed help, but didn’t validate it properly.
They built a solution that nobody actually wanted.
The lesson? Don’t trust assumptions. Test, test, test.
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How Great Product Teams Work
A strong product team isn’t just a bunch of engineers coding away while PMs write documents.
Cagan argues that the best teams:
Include a PM, a designer, and engineers working together (not in silos).
Prototype quickly—don’t waste months coding something that might fail.
Validate ideas before committing—use interviews, A/B testing, and real-world feedback.
Are empowered—they solve problems creatively instead of just following orders.
In contrast, a feature team just builds whatever is in the backlog. They’re order takers.
A true product team owns the problem. They have the freedom to explore and create the best possible solution.
A Real-World Example: Netflix’s Personalization
Think about how Netflix recommends shows you actually want to watch.
This didn’t happen by accident. The product team at Netflix:
Studied user behavior (What do people actually click on?).
Tested different recommendation algorithms.
Used A/B testing to measure engagement.
Iterated constantly to improve accuracy.
If Netflix had just “shipped features” without testing, they’d have ended up with a cluttered, frustrating homepage.
Instead, they focused on outcomes—better engagement and more watch time.
The Key to Success: Continuous Discovery
Cagan says that most ideas are wrong. That’s why great teams constantly test and refine.
His advice?
Prototype before coding. A simple mockup can save months of wasted work.
Get real feedback. Customers can’t always tell you what they need, but they can react to what you show them.
Measure outcomes, not features. Did the new design increase engagement? Did the new sign-up process reduce drop-off?
The worst mistake? Building something no one cares about.
Putting It All Together
If you remember just a few things from Inspired, let them be these:
Your job isn’t to build features—it’s to solve problems.
Test ideas early. Don’t spend months building something before validating it.
Empowered teams build the best products. Engineers, designers, and PMs must work together.
Measure success by outcomes, not output. Did you actually move the needle?
Great products don’t happen by luck. They’re discovered, tested, and refined.
So next time you think you have a "brilliant idea," ask yourself:
Have I actually tested this with real users?
Happy reading and remember to TAKE ACTION! There’s more to learn in the next one! Same day, same time! See ya.
My Favorite Quotes
"It doesn’t matter how good your engineering team is if they are not given something worthwhile to build."
"Software projects can be thought of as having two distinct stages: figuring out what to build (build the right product), and building it (building the product right). The first stage is dominated by product discovery, and the second stage is all about execution."
"Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do, and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.” —General George S. Patton, Jr. General"
"Keep the focus on minimal product. More on this later, but your job as product manager is not to define the ultimate product, it’s to define the smallest possible product that will meet your goals."
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I'm Vicente from Portugal, a master's student in architecture with a passion for entrepreneurship. I share my journey, lessons, and monthly reports from my newsletter business on 𝕏. Follow me for valuable insights! Join me for insights and behind-the-scenes reports, and let’s chat there!
